


Waiting

by PendulumPending



Category: Big Bang (Band), GOT7, Pentagon (Korea Band), SHINee, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Epic Bromance, Gen, Inspired by Fight Club, Jekyll and Hyde, M/M, Mind/Mood Altering Substances, Multi, Secret Crush, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-06-12 10:21:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15337815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PendulumPending/pseuds/PendulumPending
Summary: Kim Namjoon has a role to play, a gold standard to which he must aspire to, a pretense to maintain.Only his brother knows his true self.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh. I'm really doing this...well enjoy, please let me know what you think.

It had been an unnecessarily long day for the 24 year old ; Namjoon had spent close to an hour trying to stop his colleagues from stabbing each other with pieces of their scale model for their big pitch. The rest of his work day was spent dodging encouragement from his boss.

Yes. _Dodging_ encouragement.

Mr. Gong found it necessary to remind him at every chance he got of his great potential and achievements and that if he pushed himself hard enough he " _could be even greater than he ever was in his prime_ ". What did that even mean? He really did appreciate it - it's just - couldn't he have just one normal day? One day without his boss unwittingly making him feel inadequate (living up to an ideal he never even presented himself as being ) and his colleagues being awkward around him then fucking well calling _him_ awkward.

For fucks sake.

And could that creepy guy stop staring at him from across the other side of the bus?Creep.

He slowly brought his hands up to his face and spread his long fingers out before counting down to both his middle fingers. He proceeded to flip him off then slowly crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. He knew he should have taken the car today, to hell with his fear of driving alone.He slowly turns his gaze to the window at the back of the bus and concentrates on the chaotic music emanating from his earphones and the rise and fall of his seat as the bus navigates through the city.

Namjoon was not one to have many friends but he loved the few he had fiercely and was loyal to a fault. One such a friend was Jackson, the kid had forced himself into his life and made himself unnervingly comfortable there. Namjoon pretended to hate it - to keep their banter going- but deep down inside he was glad Jackson had recognised and acted on their need for each other before he could dismiss it.

His thoughts are interrupted by an annoying cough to his right. He ignores it and moves to flip through the playlist currently blaring into his ears. Creepy is not deterred, he starts to clear his throat and wave his own smartphone just below Namjoon's face. Never one to be exceptionally rude, Namjoon looks up at him quizzically to give him the chance to back off.

The man mouths something unintelligible and keeps pointing to his own phone. " _I can't hear you_." Sighs Namjoon. To which the weirdo deadpanns " _Cos' not. I wasn't actually saying anything._ " Creepo McWeirdo then smiled the most infectious smile and nods to his own phone " Y _ou said you'd send me some tracks Namu_ ".Namjoon froze because:

1\. Who was this guy who knew his name and had forced a nickname on him?

2\. Who was this guy?

3\. So many options and this guy goes with Namu?

" _Do I know you_?" He hazards. " _I mean...have we met before? Like...in real life?_ ". McWeirdo makes a strange face then erupts with laughter, slamming his obscenely large hands on Namjoons back. " _Does he know me he asks..._ " They both wait for the other to share the joke. Realisation dawned on the goofier of the two as he slams his face into his pan sized palm. " _Damnit, we keep meeting when you're too drunk to remember. I'm Taehyung_." McWeir- Taehyung waits for him to remember, prodding his phone with his long fingers hoping it would nudge a memory loose. Nothing.

Then ,as foggy memories of drunken game nights suddenly waft through his brain, a knowing smile blossoms onto Taehyungs smug face. " _There he is..._ ". Namjoon groans audibly...not **another** Jackson.


	2. Weird Science

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Namjoon tossess his torso up into a sitting position and takes in the state of the living room. Completely spotless. But the hangover his body is trying to ignore insists that it might have looked different at some point. He sighs and settles his glare on Taeyhung - who is way too close for comfort - and wonders if he should try asking another question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, got more Hits than I ever thought I would get. My chapters are all going to be relatively short. Just imagine Russ's " Emergency" for this chapter.

Jackson wakes up to a notification-less phone at 6am. Again. When would Joon learn to try to call him at least 3 times during the night? What kind of best friend behaviour was this? Never mind, he'd chew him out when he picks him up in a few hours.

He takes his time, stretching the sleep from his limbs and literally tumbles out of bed and crawls to the bathroom to get ready. Once at his basin, he jumps up and cringes at the sight of his reflection.  _What do I do in my sleep?_ he muses as he preps his toothbrush for a full scale assault on his mouth. He shrugs the thought off and reluctantly moves towards the shower with his eyes still locked on his reflection.

 He makes his way to his car - a good shower and cup of coffee later - down 3 flights of stairs and through the inconveniently dark parking basement. He throws himself and his phone into his car and checks his reflection in his rear-view mirror, a habit he picked up from his best friend's older brother, " _Transformer! Hot guy in disguise! "_ he sings as he turns the key in the ignition. 

Jackson pulled up to Namjoon's building - a few songs and angry truck drivers later - and reaches for his phone in the passenger seat only to grab a ratty book no doubt forgotten by Joon. He clucks his tongue and gives it a once over before throwing it in the back seat. He needed to get that man's head out of all these books. He really admired his friends passion and love for soaking up knowledge but he needed to see the world from a different view point. One that wasn't from the pages of a book.

He absent-mindedly started looking through his messages for a good 10 minutes after sending Namjoon an  _I'm outside_ text.  _" Whoah"_ he mutters when he finds 10 unread messages, what really suprises him is that one of them is from Joon...

 

**Jooniversal**

**06h45am: _Who is Taeyhung?_**

 

 _" Weird..."_ He chuckles and looks up at the rather frowny building, frowny because it wasn't grey but it wasn't brown. It was an inbetween colour that he never understood or liked. He sighs and heaves his body out the car and into the buildings foyer. He saunters up to the staircase and looks over to the elevator...Joon lives on the 12th floor...a quick glance at his wristwatch tells him it's 07h15.

 

                                                                                                                 ******

 

A soft slurpy sound is - annoyingly - buzzing around in the background as Namjoon drifts in and out of sleep. He suddenly opens his eyes as he remembers that it's a week day and getting ready for work is something he usually does in the morning. But that slurping persists, growing in confidence and brazen disrespect for human decency. Joon can't stand it, he tries changing positions, going from spread eagle on the wooden floor to on his left side then his right. No. This has to stop.

He swings up into a sitting position and comes brow to brow with a familiar stranger who raises his eyebrows mid-slurp.  _" Yah Namu...you could sleep through an apocalypse"_. Joon groans and swings back onto the floor, banging his head in the process.  _" Why? ...Mhhmm? Why me? "_ He asks the ceiling as he pulls at his hair.

 

Taeyhung shuffles onto the couch on his left with his cup of tea and peers down at him.  _"  It's getting late. You should really get up for work."_

 

**_No shit...and shut up please._ **

_Just saying, you usually shoo me out at 4 am. I hid in the last place you'd look this time -_

**_Who - no - what are you? A demon?  Who sent you?_ **

_\- I was in the kitchen. Jin makes the best pancakes  by the way -_

_**Where is my brother? What did you do to him?**  
_

_\- He always knows just how I like em'...even had chocolate chips in there...maaaaan. Do I love me some choco-chips-_

**_You're just gonna ignore me - right. Why not._ **

 

Namjoon tossess his torso up into a sitting position and takes in the state of the living room. Completely spotless. But the hangover his body is trying to ignore insists that it might have looked different at some point. He sighs and settles his glare on Taeyhung - who is way too close for comfort - and wonders if he should try asking another question. A quick deep breath and he dives in..

  _ **What happen-**_

_Jin went to work. What did you mean? What could I do to him?_

**_I don't know. Kill him?  Why are you here? What happened?_ **

_That would be hard to do, he's a bit excitable. It's a bit hard to kill guys like that. Horror movies aren't accurate -_

**_I just...they die first._ **

_I call your factless stereotype and raise you...Train to Busan -_

**_Who's like Jin in that movie? -_ **

_Also...Zombieland..._

A long pregnant pause hisses in the silence. Namjoon nods, acknowledging defeat; there is no sense to be extracted here. He slowly drags himself and his phone up to a standing position as he types out a text and sends it to the first " J " contact that comes up. He looks back at his torturer and decides demons do exist. He slaps a hand to his hip as he concludes that this is the second one he has encountered. He laughs to himself and decides to have a quick shower and tosses a  _"  There better be some pancakes left for me too.."_ over his shoulder as he slouches into the bathroom.

 

                                                                                                         **************

 

 


	3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wait…Where were we last night?
> 
> At a bar in Ilsan with V hyung…don’t you remember?
> 
> There’s a suffocatingly long pause as Namjoon collects his thoughts and pretends to try and remember because, in all honesty, not one moment of the previous night is etched into his memory. The loud one behind Jackson saves him the trouble with a loud yooooooh! and a shake of his shaggy haired head –
> 
> V carried him off to get him sobered up! I remember now…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a roll! I was listening to DJ Citi Lights " vura" when I wrote this. I'm a big John Hughes fan, hence the chapters title.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading it, because I enjoyed writing it.

As it turns out, Jackson thinks he's the sane one. The absolute pillar of rationality and diligent logic between himself and Namjoon. No matter how many times Joon shouts for Taeyhung to come out and stop hiding, the loon doesn't appear. He relents and they carpool to their respective work places.

Joon's day is filled with patience testing episodes of his project mate Jinyoung arguing that a 3 storey block of flats couldn't possibly need a fire escape, that all the bathrooms were designed to be too "bathroomy" , that nobody wants to see what's going on in the kitchen "  _Walls exist for a reason! "._  But he takes it in stride, shrugging it off as Jinyoung lightening the mood since the other 3 group members wouldn't know what a smile was if The Joker himself etched it onto their smug not-so-little faces. 

 

                                                                                                               ************

5pm sluggishly makes an appearance, finally. Joon shrugs his satchel on and nods a goodbye to Jinyoung as he heads down to the parking lot to wait for Jackson. He hopes he came alone, as he watches his car turn into the lot. He closes his eyes and recites a silent prayer as Jackson’s beast of a vehicle slides to a complete stop in front of him. He lets out a resigned breath - he has to open his eyes at some point - and opens his left then right eye...

_Aish..._

4 pairs of eyes beam back at him. He unslings his bag as he decides where to park himself. Jackson is steadily staring at the raven-haired male obliviously occupying Joon’s seat. He clears his throat pointedly and nods towards the back of the car.  _" You know your place Choi."_  The man hisses exasperatedly and heaves out of the car. Namjoon nods a greeting _“ Sup’ Minho”_ to which Minho replies with a curt look of absolute loathing. He was sure Minho didn’t hate him _per say_ , he understood that he and Jackson had been really close before Namjoon showed up. He flashes Minho a reassuring dimpled smile and slides into the passenger seat and turns to greet the other two men occupying the back.

They’ve been on the road for 15 long minutes and the one Jackson keeps calling _Kino_ starts talking animatedly about a wild night they had with _V hyung **.**_ Not one to be shy, Kino, vividly describes the amount of alcohol consumed and regurgitated in the space of 4 hours. Everyone laughs along, not noticing Joon’s non-participation. Kino does eventually and shimmies forward between the two men and taps him on the shoulder -

_Where’d you disappear to last night hyung?_

**_Me?_ **

_Yea, we waited for a good 2 hours before we left the bar. Did you get lucky?_

**_Lucky? Wait…Where were we last night?_ **

_At a bar in Ilsan with V hyung…don’t you remember?_

There’s a suffocatingly long pause as Namjoon collects his thoughts and pretends to try and remember because, in all honesty, not one moment of the previous night is etched into his memory. The loud one behind Jackson saves him the trouble with a loud _yooooooh!_ and a shake of his shaggy haired head –

_V carried him off to get him sobered up! I remember now…_

All in attendance recollect the same thing and marvel at this “V’s” display of kindness and brotherliness. Kim Namjoon quietly agrees and looks out the windscreen at the blurred city scape – Jackson’s car is calmly screaming down every road turned into, leaving horns blasting in its wake. _Exactly like the maniac driving it_ Joon muses.

 

He smothers a small cackle at his own obsevation and looks out the passenger side window as they turn into his street. He hears Kino ask Loud Shaggy hair –

 

_Hoseok hyung? Are we going straight home from here?_

 

To which Minho responded –

 

_Of course not. Joon here is going to play host tonight. Aren’t you **Joon**?_

 

Namjoon didn’t miss the venom in this guy’s tone but he was no push over. He shrugged nonchalantly, chuckled and looked at him through the rear-view mirror –

 

**_Sure. But …you sure you can keep up Mins? I mean…you only had one beer and passed out last time._ **

 

He glared back and forced a smile, shaking his infuriatingly perfect head –

 

_We’ll see Kim. We’ll see who the last man standing will be._


	4. Minho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The elevator crawled up to the 12th floor, numbers dinging above Namjoons head as Minho stood behind him awkwardly - trying very hard not to touch him. Jackson watched from the front corner of the tiny box, bemused. He finally cleared his throat and asked,
> 
> Hyung...? What's wrong?
> 
> What-....you never call me hyung...
> 
> That's how concerned I am-
> 
> I'm fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listened to Buena Vista Social Club's "Murmullo " while writing this. I'm not sure but...it feels like "the mood".

Choi Minho understood many things. He understood soccer, computational science ( his profession ) and any laptop placed in front of him. But there was one thing he couldn't wrap his mind around. 

 

Kim Namjoon. 

 

They were forced to meet; Jackson had insisted on introducing Minho to his new  _cool_ friend. He'd gone on about it as if Jackson and himself hadn't been friends for more than half their young lives. He'd talked about every single thing Namjoon said every minute of every god damn day since. Okay...that's how it felt. He wanted to be rid of Kim God damned Namjoon but at the same time he admired the man, not that he would ever tell him that. 

He found himself looking up his social media accounts to get a better feel of the man. He wasn't surprised to find just about 10 pictures of Joon and Jackson with himself cropped out. This guy, cropping Minho out of existence. How  _dare_  he.

He was just disappointed because, in the 2 years that he had known him, they had yet to have a meaningful conversation while sober. Sure, he could stand him drunk; The part of him that  _wilfully_ hated the man seemed to be subdued by alcohol. But Namjoon would never remember these conversations, he didn’t know if he was faking it – embarrassed by the truths he’d divulged – or if he genuinely didn’t remember any of it.

It gutted Minho to think he had discussed personal things with the idiot and that he had grown even fonder of him. What an idiot. Now here he was stuck in the world’s smallest elevator with Jackson, Hobi, Kino and The Joon himself. And this was all his idea. Awesome. The elevator crawled up to the 12th,floor numbers dinging above Namjoons head as Minho stood behind him awkwardly - trying very hard not to touch him. Jackson watched from the front corner of the tiny box, bemused. He finally cleared his throat and asked,

 

**_Hyung...? What's wrong?_ **

  _What-....you never call me hyung..._

_**That's how concerned I am-** _

_I'm fine._

 

An awkward silence fell over everyone as they turned to peek at him one by one. Everyone, that is, except Kim Godly Namjoon. Minho shrugged and leaned into the back of the steel coffin as it whirred slowly upwards. He huffed and all the stupid nicknames he'd given him suddenly came to mind -

Kim Godsgifttotheplanet Namjoon

Kimpossibly arrogant Namjoon

Kim dululu Namjoon

Joonbug

....Ok so the last one was somewhat sweet. He couldn't help it! THIS MAN. He sighed irritably and put his hand up as an apology as everyone turned to raise their eyebrows at him. Everyone except the man in front of him. Then a thought dawned on him, why did he care what Namjoon did?

 


	5. Jackson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was hard not to notice how kind and considerate Minho turned into a grumpy hostile mess when Namjoon was around. Jackson had chalked it up to Minho feeling insecure, he’d even reassured him that ,although Joon was most certainly the best wingman/best friend/broseph he could’ve ever hoped to find…Minho was officially his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest. Jammed Upside down by Jay Park ( ft Loco, Gray and Simon Dominic) for a few hours straight and this is the result.

Being an only child sucked, but it did condition you for rejection and failure. No matter what happened you could have the confidence to try again because you had no-one to compare your experiences with. That meant every fail was simply a part of life's journey.

 

When Jackson met Minho at his cousin's 10th birthday party he couldn't believe his luck. This kid loved everything he loved!!! The only problem was that he was a few years older than him. No problem. 9 year old Jackson had the same confidence and determination 24 year old Jackson would soon enjoy.

Jackson did his best not to act like a complete 9-year-old around him; never complained when he'd struggle to keep up when they played or rode their bikes together. He wanted to keep Minho as his brother, wanted to be respected by him.

Minho taught him the importance of perseverance and diligence. He knew Minho saw him trying, pushed him to be the best he could be and his heart swelled with pride at every milestone passed.None of this was ever uttered between the two though, not once.

 

Jackson fondly remembers how low key caring and supportive Minho has been the last 15 years as he watches him awkwardly open Namjoon's apartment door for his best friend and then blush as he sees Jackson holding back 2 years’ worth of teasing and laughter behind his back. Minho hadn't said anything yet, but Jackson knew, they all did.

It was hard not to notice how kind and considerate Minho turned into a grumpy hostile mess when Namjoon was around. Jackson had chalked it up to Minho feeling insecure, he’d even reassured him that , although Joon was most certainly the best wingman/best friend/broseph he could’ve ever hoped to find…Minho was officially his brother.

So, he couldn’t help but cackle internally as he watched his brother fumble into Joon’s place and compose himself into a cool saunter as he pretended to look around the room on his way to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shortest chapter because the doodoo about to hit the fan.


	6. Only the Lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joon slowly tilts his head back and squints accusingly at Minho, " You wanna fight me Mins? I don't get it...you really want to fight me?" . Nobody answers because no one really thinks fighting this Namjoon is a good idea, not at all. Jackson tries to interject again but is beaten to it by Minho quietly stating " I could fight you Kim...".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with the John Hughes references...again. Have to share what I listened to while writing this: 
> 
> H.E.R - Losing  
> BTS - Just One Day  
> Karyn White - Superwoman  
> Shinee - Good Evening  
> Sam Smith - Money on my mind

There's a point during a night of drunken debauchery , where you look around at all your accomplices - laughing their heads off at something or other - and hear a clear voice point out  _" We're smashed out of our minds drunk"._ The voice is usually in your head and is softly trying to chide you into doing sober things. 

Joon hears said voice and wonders why it sounds like his brother, it keeps telling him to slow down because  _" You know how you get"_. Namjoon cackles a bit at this because , obviously, he doesn't know how he gets when he gets completely smashed. He never remembers, but tonight he's going to try his best. He gets up from his place on the floor next to the couch , using Minho's knees to balance himself, and stumbles over to the mirror in the hallway. He leans in close enough to fog up the glass and stares into his own eyes...nothing happens. No sudden epiphany, nothing. He sighs and whisphers _" Half-way there"_ then walks towards the kitchen with the intention of getting completely shitfaced drunk. 

 

                                                                                                           *********************************************

Minho spends his evening avoiding alcohol and Namjoon. He says nothing when Joon decides to lean on his legs on the floor as he happily chugs on a bottle of something way too strong to be chugged, doesn't blink an eye when he decides to ruffle his hair as he gets up to go to the kitchen, doesn't flinch when Joon repeatedly calls him  _Mins_...no. He won't let all that get to him but...Choi Minho loses his shit the moment Joon rolls up his sleeves. He would say it was because he was only one drink in while everyone is a six pack deep and smiling like idiots, but the small action of those two absurdly huge hands rolling shirt sleeves up makes his eyes widen and pupils dilate.

 _"  What the- what the fuck-"_ Minho explodes and gets up to glare at the offending bare forearms and turns to Jackson to ask  _"Why in the actual fuck does he do that? He's trying to kill me! "._ The room goes quiet and suddenly everyone feels acutely sober. Hobi slowly maneuvers himself between the two keeping his eyes on Minho, he steals a glance at Jackson and whistles cheerfully and whispers "  _Good thing Minho's still sober...he has a good **sober** head on his shoulders right now..." _ He looks back at Minho and winks  _"  Right Choi? "._ Jackson is about to intervene when a low rumbling growl-like noise comes from Joon's general direction, he stops mouth agape and eyes wide as it turns into a chuckle then a loud cocky bark of a laugh. They all stare at Namjoon , now shaking with mirth. The laughing dies down and is replaced by the loudest silence any of them has ever heard, Hobi grimaces and looks at Jackson -

_" He's back isn't he?"_

Jackson mouths a no and signals for him not to mention it. Too late. Joon slowly tilts his head back and squints accusingly at Minho,  _"  You wanna fight me Mins? I don't get it...you really want to fight me?"_ . Nobody answers because no one really thinks fighting **this** Namjoon is a good idea, not at all. Jackson tries to interject again but is beaten to it by Minho quietly stating _"  I could take you Kim..."._ Joon motions for him to come closer and smirks  _" By all means Mins, step right up-"_

 

**_"  Stop calling me that."_ **

_"  Make me."_

**_"  See... you're quick to violence when you've got booze in you, quick to fight -no listen, don't laugh- "_ **

"  _Wouldn't you be? If someone hated you for no fucking reason? "_

 

Minho turns his back on him in disbelief. Sober Namjoon is never this direct, he always said what he meant sober but was economical with his words - this Joon doesn't give a fuck. Choi Minho considers how attractive this version of the man is, how he likes making this version angry - he shakes this thought out of his head - definitely not the time for that. He meant to sound cute, smitten, but instead he came off as aggro...why is he like this? Why couldn't he just be like normal people?

 

 


	7. Tickets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, long time no see. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy chapter 7, feel free to drop me a note/comment ; ).

                                                                                                                 Minho

 

It's a Saturday, he's sure of it. He's groggy mind tries to swim out of the dark corner of his sub-conscious and pull itself awake. He recalls getting off work the day before and making it to Namjoon's house, he remembers acting the fool...

Oh...fuck. 

He groans out out loud scaring himself awake. Mihno slowly makes sense of he's surroundings. He's on a bed - sure, he was just asleep. Makes sense. - he seems to have no shirt on, again, he tends to sleep in just boxers. He quickly checks the bottom half of his body under the sheets...

 

Oh shit.

 

He closes his eyes in prayer, he prays to all the deity's , _please let the person next to me be Namjoon._ Not yet brave or awake enough to turn to the warm body next to him, he slowly lets his hand slide over to his right and lands on a firm yet soft  - what seems to be - tummy. He shrinks away from the sensation of skin on skin and holds his hand to his chest,  _Idiot! We still don't know who it is! ._ Steeling himself, Mihno sits up carefully and takes a peek to his right -

 

_1.Silver/Grey hair_

_2\. Long Limbs_

_3.Deep voice as he tells me to stop staring- wait what?_

 

He waits for him to say something else, leans in closer to him to make sure he catches it this time. He's never been a patient man so he ends up poking the sleeping guy in the chest - just to see if he's really awake, yelping in surprise when sleeping beauty suddenly growls in response. "  **Stop poking me Mins"** He recoils at the use of the nickname because it isn't Namjoon, nearly hurls at the thought of what he's done with someone who is not Namjoon, wants to scream at what he expects Kim Namjoon will think of all this. A moan of dismay threatens to escape his mouth so he slaps his hand over it and takes a deep breath to calm himself down. He recognises that voice. Taehyung finally turns to face him and grins up at him groggily  **" ...it's too early for a repeat performance Mins"**. Choi Mihno groans and buries his face in his hands...he can fix this. Right? He winces as Tae gently places his hand on his lower back and massages his goose-bumpy skin into smooth submission,  **" ...I guess ...I guess I make you breakfast now? "** he could kill him, he really could. But he doesn't. Instead, Mihno rubs his hands together thoughtfully before giving Tae a good long stare -

_How'd I get here?_

**_Alcohol Mins...although my wit and charm had a little to do with it. I'd like to think._ **

_...Where's...where is Namjoon?_

**_Again with Namj- listen - you were sighing his name in your sleep. Do you always do that?_ **

_How would I know?_

Tae shrugs and pointedly sits up and throws the bedclothes aside revealing his naked body. He chuckles at the sensation the sudden exposure brings and gets up in search of a robe or towel or shorts or - he settles on a pair of slacks on the floor he's sure he's never worn before and saunters over to Mihno's side of the bed to plant a soft kiss on his forehead. Mins looks up at him and shrugs  _" Those are mine..."_ he's rewarded with a cackle and a quick kiss to the lips  **"" _Took em' off you so they're mine now Mimi"_** _._ The new nickname leaves him reeling, so much to take in so early in the morning.


	8. One too many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I say ( Shinee) kept me up.
> 
> Edit: I've been real bad at this but, I guess the next chapter will be posted on 06/11/2018

Choi Mihno

 

How many cups of coffee does it take to forget a sudden recollection of a whole night of drunken stupidity? More than the 6 Mihno has had so far. He is perched stoically on one of Tae's kitchen bar stools, cradling his 7th cup of sugarless, milk-less coffee. He nods absently as he watches the other man busily make him way more food than his hung over stomach can possibly handle.

Taehyung seems to read his thoughts and stops mid-whisk to smile and wink at him.  **"** ** _The Chef would be highly offended if none of this get's eaten. No pressure."_** Jolted out of his sober stupor, Choi Mihno nods in response and takes another sip of his drink. He sighs loudly as more flashes of the previous night premiere on the big screen TV in his head...

 *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

**Last night**

Things tend to escalate quickly after some drunk shouting or a fight over something very stupid. That's what happened in Namjoon's apartment at exactly 2 minutes past Drunk Namjoon o'clock. Unsurprisingly Jackson had to intervene after he watched his best friend launch himself towards his brother in the most focused and calculated drunken rage he has ever seen. And he's watched Joon beat up a guy twice his size just for stepping on Jackson's shoes.

 

Jackson watched in horror as his best friend calmly pushed his brother into the nearest wall and slowly clasped his neck in the most delicate squeeze.

Tried to stir his body into motion when Mihno's eyes widened comically when Joon leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

The room only erupted into motion when Joon's fist suddenly collided with the space just beside Mihno's head, causing him to slap Joon reflexively. It took some effort from Hoseok and Jackson to pull him away from Mihno, with Joon giving him a withering glance before striding off into the kitchen with Kino hot on his heels. 

 

                          **************************************************************************************************************************

 Choi Mihno

He can't remember much after that, except the bottles of alcohol Jackson kept shoving into his hands and Jin having kittens when he got home with his friend to a house full of drunk men and Namjoon trying to instigate a wrestling match. 

Minho groans again and buries his head in his hands. He tenses as there's a knock at the door, looking to Taehyung for - strength? Lord knows he isn't afraid, but he wouldn't be able to handle seeing anyone else right now. Luckily, Tae senses this and wipes his hands on the slacks he has hijacked and sighs  **" You can't hide forever you know... don't know why you're hiding...I'm a catch and a half.."** followed by some more light-hearted grumbling before the door seemingly bursts open of its own accord, with Jackson striding in wild-eyed and... well, surprised? They share a look, a knowing one. This is definitely a wild turn of events, definitely not what Jackson thought would happen, he lets a moment of his disappointment settle on his face before schooling his features into their usual nonchalant-ness.

_" Yah Choi Mihno, get up we're leaving.."_

_" **Is there anyone outside**?" _

_" Yes. The entire fucking world and you in a second."_

_" **Cool...fine..let me get my pants...** "_

The smallest blush rests on Jackson's cheeks when Mihno walks over to Taehyung and unbuttons his slacks and motions for him to remove them until he realises they're his brothers. He sighs and turns towards the door. ** _" I'll be outside if you need me."_**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	9. The EVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story...I /was/ listening to Exo's The Eve when I started this...ended up listening to RM's Playlist "Mono" , Jonghyun's Moon and love-belt and just well...here is the result.

 

Minho

Maybe it was the fact that he so easily lost his temper, it might have been the fact that he whispered "  _If you wanted me to touch you, you just had to ask._ " in his ear after manhandling him.... yes that was it. That's what made him slap the only person he's ever wanted to...what? What does he want from him? 

There's a ringing in his ears after he slaps Joon as if he'd slapped himself. He closes his eyes and unclenches his fists - there has to be a better way to handle this. His mouth opens without his permission and attempts to get him into more trouble just as the door suddenly swings open to reveal a very tired looking Kim Seokjin, followed by his friend. Taehyung. 

A chorus of”  _Hyung!"_  can suddenly be heard as the room acknowledges the elder Kim's presence.  His head drops when he clocks his brother in the kitchen chugging a bottle of rum and Kino in a headlock, “ _I can only tolerate one hooligan at a time in my house...Jackson you have to leave, Namjoon's the hooligan of the night"._  The room stills for a second as the drunken hoard ( 5 is a hoard ) of 20-something-year-olds try and work out if they should laugh or kick Jackson out themselves. Jin grins and reaches for Kino's shoulder to smack it good-naturedly” Your _thinking face is fucking funny Ki, don't hurt yourself...I'm kidding.."._  The room sighs audibly, even brazen Jackson looks relieved, this Kim is not to be messed with. 

The next 20 minutes are relatively calm with Taehyung getting settled in the room and Namjoon being too far from him for them both to cause havoc. But then Seokjin finds it necessary to call his brother outside for - lord knows what -  leaving Minho at the mercy of – the third hooligan - Taehyungs intense stare. He really can’t tell if he’s staring or just zoning out after swishing down a mug of vodka.

******************************************************************************************

Tae

4 months ago

What do you say to the brother you met once when you were 5 when you see them again after 20 years? How do you describe the absolute joy they’ve brought into your life by simply existing? Tae doesn’t know, and he thinks he’ll figure something out as he unpacks his clothes from one of his bright purple suitcases and into his new wardrobe, in his new bedroom, in his new place which he moved to, to be close to his two half-brothers.

Two hours later, he’s all moved in, all his stuff meticulously placed in their respective living areas. He beams a full smile at his minimalistic furniture and chuckles; no-one would believe he lives here.

One heavy sigh - and shot of whiskey – later, he’s standing outside his brothers’ place, forehead on the distressed wood and heart thumping away.  A deep soothing voice purrs through the keyhole yelling obscenities at the TV…he can do this. He just has to knock and everything else will fall into place.

His hand raises itself and suddenly knocks before his mind registers what’s happened. He jumps as the door is pulled open and a handsome man peers out at him quizzically. Taehyung squeaks out a hello, holds out his hand, clears his throat “ I…I’m Tae. Kim Taehyung. Your…your brother.” His hand is not shook, he holds it out stubbornly and motions for the man to shake it. Handsome-ssi snorts “ What’s wrong with your hand Kim Taehyung?…I’m not gonna shake it; don’t know where it’s been”.

*****************************************************************************************

Minho

Minho spends the next hour trying his best to look anywhere else, at anything else and fails pitifully. His mission to remain in the safety of the Kitchen doing little to help the situation. Finally admitting defeat – and feeling like the prey to Tae’s predator - Minho sighs and mouths a “what? ” at the reclined figure on the couch across the room from him. Said predator smiles and heaves himself into a standing position. Taehyung stands there, now smiling into his ever-full mug with the disturbing affection Minho wishes he could see in Joon’s eyes. Tae raises his head to meet his gaze and points to his cup and turns it upside down to show that it’s empty, nods towards the door and extends his hand towards him making grabby hands at him.

This is a bad idea. It dawns on Minho 10 minutes later when he finds himself walking behind Taehyung as they approach his apartment door two floors up. I mean sure, Tae said he needed to get his wallet so that they could get more bottles of vodka/rum but…why’d he need him for that? He could have gone with Jackson or Kino or Hobi or anyone else on the planet. Anyone. And he hadn’t said a word the whole way up here, just kept staring. He does that a lot.

A distant rumbling pulls Minho out of his internal dialogue, he frowns and looks up to find Tae – with a ghost of a smile on his lips – looking at him expectantly. “Sorry …what?” he sighs out eventually, Predator-ssi coo’s and whispers a “ _Cuuuute”_ while turning the key and opening the door for Minho. Tae leans back onto the door frame and motions for him to come in blinking his eyes repeatedly to feign absolute innocence.  _It’s a trap!!_ Minho can hear his alcohol clogged brain yell…then another voice – softer but definitely his – whispers _maybe…maybe I want him to trap me…he’s been chasing long enough…._

_*********************************************************************************_

Tae

2 months ago

"Why does he never remember meeting me? " Jin gives him a stream of references from the movie  _50 First dates_ in response. Taehyung just doesn't get it; he's met him and his friends atleast ten times, gone out with them, gotten smashed and slept on the same floor as them but Namjoon never remembers meeting him. Speaking of his friends - his mind is prone to wandering - Namjoon has this...friend...he's interesting. Tae thinks he's far too interesting to not be investigated. He looks out the window of Jin's car and watches the city whirl past , sighs and taps away at his phone screen... _how to come out to your long lost brother..._ Of course the internet isn't entirely very helpful.

He looks over at Jin and clears his throat to get his attention " So.." he searches for his next words as his older brother chuckles softly keeping his eyes on the road.

" I know. You don't have to say it"

" Thank god....I couldn't do this again"

" But I think he's really _really_ into Namjoon…so…”

“ Who?”

“ The guy you’ve been obviously staring at for the past two weeks.”

“ So…okay on the whole gay thing then?”

Jin let’s go of the wheel at this point from laughing so hard. Clutches at his sides as Tae quickly takes the wheel and steadies the car. “ You’re not very subtle little one, you gave yourself a whole nickname” Tae blushes and stifles a retort, settling on  “ You did too…Mr. Worldwide handsome”.

 


	10. Damage Pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I tripped and fell, downloaded a copy of EXO's new Album " Don't Mess up My Tempo" and here we are.

2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days and 17 hours. Or 2129 hours or 127 740 seconds.

 

That’s how long it’s been since he’d seen Choi Minho. He doesn’t understand why he’s been keeping count. It’s not clear why his absence has left a void in his life. But he feels it. It’s the strangest feeling, a gnawing ache in the pit of his stomach, a light irritating dull and persistent flutter in his chest; everything he tries not to feel for anyone.

 

A thought occurs to him as he wrestles with his pride, he could just invite himself over to Jacksons and make sure he’s okay. That walking energy drink hadn’t been very chatty of late, opting to turn the radio up full blast on the way to and from work. Ever since the night Joon allegedly almost punched a hole in the wall. Pieces of that night are lodged in his mind but the whole picture is still foggy; he can’t remember much after about 10 pm and the 10 gulps of strong clear liquid he’d had. He swears off alcohol right there and then “Never again” he promises himself. He looks up from the variations of a blueprint that are haphazardly strewn across his desk and locks eyes with Jinyoung who’s desk is closest to the door that leads out onto a small 'smoking area' or balcony.

 

He wasn’t a big fan of the cubicles they used to work in but this open plan thing isn’t that much better either. It has its shortfalls, but what he does like is that he just has to raise his lunch bag and Jinyoung would know it was lunchtime. This time, he raised his pack of cigarettes, got up to walk towards Jinyoung's desk and promptly collided with Mr. Gong. His boss has a knack for appearing suddenly, an unnerving and unpopular talent. Both men chuckled the awkward encounter off, with Jinyoung swiftly coming to the rescue. Crooning a smooth " Ahh...Gong-ssi " and dramatically stepping aside to let him walk past, the wickedest grin on his face.

A shake of Namjoons head had his colleague chuckling as they stepped out onto the balcony and lit up their chosen poison.

Jinyoung doesn't know what  'companionable silence' means he stubbornly resists keeping quiet during staff meetings, funerals, weddings, sleep - just about every situation that requires it. But here he stands, cigarette in hand and not a sound escaping his lips. Joon watches his own burn to the filter and tosses it over the railing expecting a joke-chuckle-smile - from his friend. Nothing. He turns to him and crosses his arms on his chest expectantly, much to Jirongie's annoyance.

" ...I'm not sulking. Nothing's wrong."

" I said nothing. Literally. Nothing."

" You never do, not with your mouth anyway. I just...I'm worried." As he fiddles with his box of poison. 

The statement hangs in the air as the wind picks up and a few tear laden clouds block out the Sun for a few minutes. They sigh in unison, breaking the spell.

"..It's just.."

" It's just?" Namjoon prods.

" It's still hard. Why is it still hard? "

Joon gives Jinnie a moment to calm down, his hands visibly shaking, before inching a fraction closer to him to bump shoulders lightly  " Remember in Varsity when I broke my leg?"

" Yes. that's how I got my laugh lines."

" Remember how I wanted to stop using the crutches too soon?"

" Yeah...funniest shit I'd ever seen." he chuckles lightly, throwing his cigarette over the railing.

" You were always there to remind me to take it slow. When you were done laughing at me." At this Jirongie laughs wholeheartedly. Alternating between clutching his ribs and wiping the tears from his eyes. 

" One step at a time? That's the advice you're recycling?" laughter still trickling from his lips.

" Worked back then, should apply to this situation. Just...don't forget to see the doctor too, you still need to do that- "

" Yeah. Yes...I'm still seeing her."

They share a look. A knowing one. Namjoon suddenly retreats towards the glass door holding up his hands in surrender " Nope. No. Don't say it" 

His colleague smiles wickedly once more " Follow your own advice dum-dum!".

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a conversation with a colleague, similar to this one. All I kept thinking was, there are so many people out there who carry burdens but never show it, only show their vulnerable sides to one person ( if their lucky enough to have that ). I wish everyone had somewhere to take their burdens and worries and leave them there, if only for a few minutes a day.
> 
> Guess who's taking their real-life experiences and writing an AU about them? This dumbass right here. Exactly what I said I wouldn't do...*sighs in stressed adult* planning isn't what it used to be.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter

I'm stuck. Willfully blocked; whatever's stumped me feels heavy. I'm stubborn though so...

Just - by show of hands - who's enjoyed this story so far?

Anyhoo, guess this is where it stops 'til I figure out how to end it.

Mwaaahzies.


End file.
